In Their Shoes
by Sparklystuff
Summary: PostHBP. Remus needs to learn that new relationships are like new shoes: everyone deserves them, and they just take a little getting used to. RLNT oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, they're JK Rowling's. I'm just borrowing them as part of my evil genius plot to take over the world, one fictional couple at a time. Muahahaha!

**A/N:** Originally written for the R/T Challenge Ficathon at LiveJournal.

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**In Their Shoes**

_Women._

Remus sat patiently on Tonks' bed, and checked his watch for what had to be the twelfth time in the last half hour.

He sighed as he watched Tonks rush around her bedroom, jamming earrings into her ear, checking and re-checking her hair every time she passed a mirror. James and Sirius had always whined about how women take forever to get ready for any occasion. Remus had hoped that waiting for a Metamorphmagus to get ready would be considerably shorter, but alas, it was not.

Remus, who had been dressed and ready to go for an hour now, sighed again. "You know we were supposed to be there at seven, and it's already five after."

"I'm almost ready!" announced Tonks, diving once again into her closet. "Besides," she said, emerging with an armful of shoes, "aren't I worth the wait?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

He let out a chuckle. "I'm a lucky man to have the privilege of waiting for you."

But inside, Remus felt uncomfortable. Certainly not because he was with Tonks, or in her home—nothing could make him happier. And he could live with the fact they were going to be ridiculously late for Bill and Fleur's wedding rehearsal dinner, despite Remus always priding himself on his punctuality. No, it was mostly the fact that as a surprise gift, Tonks had bought Remus this brand new dark suit to wear to the wedding festivities. But Remus was used to his old, worn clothes that molded around his elbows and knees just right after all these years, and he felt stiff and miserable in this magically pressed shirt, fresh tie, and shiny shoes that hadn't had time to break in yet. The fact that he hadn't paid for any of it himself just made it worse.

"Remus!" She was standing in front of him, holding two pairs of shoes up to her head. "Which pair goes better with my hair? This pair—" she tilted her head toward one pair of shoes—"or these?" She tilted toward the other pair.

He blinked. Tonks' hair was black. Both pairs of shoes were black. In fact they looked pretty much the same to him. What bloody difference did it make?

Tonks looked at him and tapped her foot impatiently, as if it was now going to be _his_ fault that they would arrive late.

Remus, having spent the last 37 years of his life as a bachelor, felt completely unprepared to handle this situation. All he could think about was that time when a pregnant Lily once had asked James if she looked fat, and James had made the mistake of being honest…and found himself unable to sit properly for the next week.

"Don't women match shoes to their dresses, not to their hair?" Remus asked, stalling.

"I suppose you're right," said Tonks, "but I sometimes like to try to match with my hair, you know, since I can." She grinned. "Besides, in case you haven't noticed, the dress is black too. So, which go better? Satin? Or the dragonskin heels?"

Oh, he had definitely noticed the dress. "They both seem fine to me," Remus admitted. He looked down at his own shiny shoes which were pinching like mad, and wished she would just decide so they could leave and get this over with. "What's so important about shoes anyway?"

"Well, first, they tell a lot about a person," Tonks said, hopping on one foot as she slid on one of the satin shoes. "Where they've been; where they're going." She grabbed on to Remus' shoulder for balance as she put one of the dragonskin shoes on the other foot, then stared at both feet, comparing. "And for us girls," she continued, "the right pair of shoes can make the difference between feeling plain, and feeling beautiful."

Remus looked at her and waited for her to meet his gaze. "Now that is where your logic is flawed," he said in a low voice. "It's not the shoes that make you look beautiful. _You_ make the _shoes_ look good."

A blush crawled its way up Tonks' face and she looked down. She loved the way he could make her blush so easily, and he loved the fact that it was _he_ who made her blush so.

"Remus Lupin," she finally said, her hands on his chest, playing with that unfamiliar silk tie, "you keep that up, and we'll _never_ make it to that dinner." She grinned mischievously, and it was impossible for him not to wrap his left arm around her waist, run his right hand through her soft curly hair of the day, and pull her in for a long kiss.

They broke it off at the same time, smiling. "I thought we were going to be late," smirked Tonks.

"We are," Remus replied, "but we ought to have a better reason than you not being able to decide on shoes." Before she could reply, he kissed her soundly on the lips.

She laughed and focused on her shoes again. "The satin go better with the dress, but the dragonskin look better on me, don't you think?"

_Oh, for Merlin's sake._ "Just wear whichever ones are more comfortable." This caused Remus to glance down at his own stiff shoes.

Tonks noticed the shift in his gaze, and said, "You clean up quite nicely, you know. You look brilliant. You're a new man."

"You're right," he replied. "I don't feel like myself at all. And these shoes lie."

"The shoes lie?"

"You said that the shoes someone wears say a lot about that person," he explained slowly. "But these don't say anything about me at all. I mean, they're lovely, and I don't want to sound unhappy that you got me these…but I've never worn them before, or any shoes like these, really. They haven't been anywhere I've been."

"Yet," Tonks corrected. "They haven't been anywhere with you _yet_."

"They're not me."

Tonks rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Let me guess. You're a poor old werewolf, so you haven't got any right to be wearing nice clothes and new shoes. You've spent the last year living amongst ferals who would probably rather eat shoes than wear them, and in the back of your head you think you're not any better. Well I think they suit you perfectly, and I really wish you'd stop letting your own self-deprecation get in the way of you trying new things. I thought we'd been over this already. You deserve happiness. You deserve me. And you deserve these damn clothes." She leaned over, brushed her nose against his ear and whispered, "And don't you worry about breaking in this stiff suit…I'll make sure it's good and wrinkled by the end of the night."

He froze, and said nothing for a full minute as Tonks left the room, presumably to search around for her handbag.

"The satin shoes. Those are the ones you should wear," he finally said.

Tonks leaned her head back in the doorway. "Oh, _now _you come up with an opinion. Too late. Let's go."

He got up and followed her to her front door. He looked at her feet. "You chose the dragonskin."

She turned and looked at him. "The satin are pretty, and stylish, and make me look beautiful," she said. "But these are a perfect fit, and make me _feel_ beautiful. Just like you."

She gave him a quick kiss, and Remus felt warm all over. He could get used to these new shoes, just like he was getting used to being in love.

As they started to leave, he suddenly asked, "Tonks, can you promise me one thing, darling?"

"Anything."

"Please, don't ever ask me if you look fat."

Tonks looked at him incredulously. "Remus, I'm a Metamorphmagus. I choose any shape I want. Why would I ask you that?"

He was a very lucky man indeed.

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End file.
